Medication Management Service for Old Age Homes in Hong Kong Using Information Technology, Automation Technology, and the Internet of Things: Pre-Post Interventional Study.

BACKGROUND: Innovation in technology and automation has been increasingly used to improve conventional medication management processes. In Hong Kong, the current practices of medication management in old age homes (OAHs) are time consuming, labor intensive, and error prone. To address this problem, we initiated an integrated medication management service combining information technology, automation technology, and the Internet of Things in a cluster network of OAHs. OBJECTIVE: This pilot study aimed to evaluate the impact of the medication management program on (1) medication management efficiency, (2) medication safety, and (3) drug wastage in OAHs. We compared the time efficiency and the reductions in medication errors and medication wastage in OAHs before and at least 2 weeks after the implementation of the program. METHODS: From November 2019 to February 2020, we recruited 2 OAHs (serving 178 residents) in Hong Kong into the prospective, pre-post interventional study. The interventional program consisted of electronic medication profiles, automated packaging, and electronic records of medication administration. Using 3-way analysis of variance, we compared the number of doses prepared and checked in 10-minute blocks before and after implementation. We received anonymous reports of medication errors from OAH staff and analyzed the results with the Fisher exact test. We also calculated the quantity and cost of wasted medications from drug disposal reports. RESULTS: The number of doses prepared and checked in 10-minute blocks significantly increased postimplementation (pre: 41.3, SD 31.8; post: 70.6, SD 22.8; P<.001). There was also a significant reduction in medication errors (pre: 10/9504 doses, 0.1%; post: 0/5731 doses; P=.02). The total costs of wasted medications during January 2020 in OAH 1 (77 residents) and OAH 2 (101 residents) were HK $2566.03 (US $328.98) and HK $5249.48 (US $673.01), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our pilot study suggested that an innovative medication management program with information technology, automation technology, and Internet of Things components improved the time efficiency of medication preparation and medication safety for OAHs. It is a promising solution to address the current limitations in medication management in OAHs in Hong Kong.

Lack of benefits for prevention of cardiovascular disease with aspirin therapy in type 2 diabetic patients--a longitudinal observational study.

BACKGROUND: The risk-benefit ratio of aspirin therapy in prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains contentious, especially in type 2 diabetes. This study examined the benefit and harm of low-dose aspirin (daily dose < 300 mg) in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: This is a longitudinal observational study with primary and secondary prevention cohorts based on history of CVD at enrollment. We compared the occurrence of primary composite (non-fatal myocardial infarction or stroke and vascular death) and secondary endpoints (upper GI bleeding and haemorrhagic stroke) between aspirin users and non-users between January 1995 and July 2005. RESULTS: Of the 6,454 patients (mean follow-up: median [IQR]: 4.7 [4.4] years), usage of aspirin was 18% (n = 1,034) in the primary prevention cohort (n = 5731) and 81% (n = 585) in the secondary prevention cohort (n = 723). After adjustment for covariates, in the primary prevention cohort, aspirin use was associated with a hazard-ratio of 2.07 (95% CI: 1.66, 2.59, p < 0.001) for primary endpoint. There was no difference in CVD event rate in the secondary prevention cohort. Overall, aspirin use was associated with a hazard-ratio of 2.2 (1.53, 3.15, p < 0.001) of GI bleeding and 1.71 (1.00, 2.95, p = 0.051) of haemorrhagic stroke. The absolute risk of aspirin-related GI bleeding was 10.7 events per 1,000 person-years of treatment. CONCLUSION: In Chinese type 2 diabetic patients, low dose aspirin was associated with a paradoxical increase in CVD risk in primary prevention and did not confer benefits in secondary prevention. In addition, the risk of GI bleeding in aspirin users was rather high.

Use of anti-diabetic drugs and glycaemic control in type 2 diabetes-tThe Hong Kong Diabetes Registry.

In this report, we examined the usage of anti-diabetic treatments including oral anti-diabetic drug (OAD) and/or insulin and their combination from baseline data of a consecutive cohort of 7549 Chinese type 2 diabetic subjects in the Hong Kong Diabetes Registry. Pattern of usage of anti-diabetic treatment and corresponding glycemic control was analyzed. OAD failure was defined as the need to add insulin to maintain glycemic target (glycated hemoglobin, HbA(1c) level<7%) with or without continuation of OAD. There were 4109 [54.4%] women and 3440 [45.6%] men (age: median 57.0 years; range 13-92 years). The mean HbA(1c) level was 7.7+/-1.8% with 39.7% attaining glycemic target. Long disease duration was associated with more complex regimens and the respective rates of OAD failure requiring insulin use were 23.7%, 39.3%, 57.1% and 75.9% in those with disease duration <5 years, 5-9.9 years, 10-19.9 years and > or =20 years (p<0.001). In conclusion, in a clinic-based type 2 diabetic population, 39.7% attained glycemic target with HbA(1c)<7%. Long disease duration and complexity of treatment regimens were associated with suboptimal glycemic control. Early intensification of therapy and system improvement are needed to enhance the effectiveness of these drugs in clinical practice.